Light Holiday Recipes Packed with Flavor

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Light Holiday Recipes Packed with Flavor

Whether you need ideas for a light holiday starter or a healthy main dish, we have you covered. These rich-tasting traditional holiday recipes are fancy enough for a festive soirée but easy enough for a weekday meal—and all are less than 400 calories.

Go Ahead—Pig Out On These: Pigs in a BlanketBefore: 418 calories, 33 g of fat | After: 204 calories, 9 g of fat "Reduced-fat turkey sausage is a smart substitution, but getting rid of the typical puff pastry is key," says recipe developer Julie O'Hara. "Instead you can use a lowfat dough made with reduced-fat cream cheese to keep it moist and light." Get the Light Holiday Pigs in a Blanket Recipe.

Start with This Soup: Potato Soup, Spa StyleBefore: 498 calories, 39 g of fat | After: 320 calories, 5 g of fat "Most potato soups rely on heavy cream for that velvety texture," says Curt Robair, the Spa Café chef at the Emerson Resort & Spa in Mount Tremper, New York, who developed this recipe. "But by swapping in lowfat buttermilk, you get the same effect for far fewer calories." Get the Light Holiday Potato Soup Recipe.

Healthier Holiday Fish: Christmas CodBefore: 482 calories, 30 g of fat | After: 351 calories, 11 g of fat "You'd typically make a stew with bacon, beans, and fried cod," says Saul Bolton, the owner and executive chef of Saul Restaurant and the Vanderbilt in Brooklyn, New York. To slim down the dish, he nixed the pork but kept the omega-3-rich cod (seared in olive oil) and protein-packed beans—and added five kinds of veggies. Get the Light Holiday Healthy Cod Recipe.

Dig into Dessert: 3 Healthy Chocolate Dessert Recipes
We couldn't do just one dessert—so we slimmed down 3 favorite holiday recipes. Using ingredients like espresso, frozen yogurt and cocoa powder to punch up the flavor leaves just enough room for the real stuff (hello, butter and sugar!) to ensure the results are worth every bite. Get the Healthy Chocolate Dessert Recipes.